I inspected today to see how the honey supers on hive B were doing, and to check for the new queen in hive A. The good news is, the new queen is alive and well in the hive. The bad news is, she does not seem to be performing her queenly duties very well. There was only a small amount of new brood in the hive, and I did not see any eggs. However, the light was not good for checking for eggs, so there may have been some. I will have to perform my next inspection when the light is more favorable for egg spotting.
In this next photo, you can clearly see the queen (number 12), on the comb. Also visible is the small patch of larvae from the new queen. Ideally, this frame should be packed solid with eggs and larvae. I don't know what exactly is happening, perhaps she starts slowly as she gets acclimated to the new hive. I only hope she has been accepted by the hive to the degree that my inspection did not disrupt a fragile situation.
Hive B is doing very well, drawing out the foundation in the second honey super I provided them. No capped honey in the first super yet, but it should be soon, I hope. There are a lot of bees in this hive. They are spilling out the front of the hive, piled all over the entrances. Here is a picture of the hives, showing the difference between a strong, three-deep hive and a weak two-deep hive:
I don't think they are preparing to swarm. Swarming season is behind us, I hope. And I really don't know what steps I could take at this point to discourage swarming. I performed a reversal recently, although I may go in on Monday or Tuesday and perform a second reversal, just to keep them guessing.
I removed one frame full of capped brood from B hive and introduced it into A hive. I swapped it with a frame of bare foundation from A hive. B hive should draw out the foundation on the frame in short order, and I hope that the introduction of the brood frame will help the new queen in A hive.
There were a lot of bees at the main entrance of A hive in defensive posture.
Also, I can feel the entire hive vibrating when I place my hands on the hive bodies of B hive.
Posted by emer0084 at July 14, 2005 4:21 PM